Ride Like the Wind
by PLLHalebSpoby
Summary: "Go for a ride with me?" Spencer is terrified at the idea of going on a motorcycle ride with Toby. She thinks they're dangerous and a recipe for disaster, but what she doesn't count on are the complete feelings of satisfaction and exhilaration that she gets from the dangerous ride. Set in Season 4.


Usually there wasn't _anything _that Spencer Hastings wasn't prepared for. It was how her brain operated: If she had to study for a complicated history test, she made the school library her temporary home, complete with stifling mugs of coffee, blankets and pillows. If she was studying for a math quiz, she would use all the gears in her brain reserved for variables and equations, and then turn to a mathlete like Lucas or Caleb, who was surprisingly adapt at handling the kind of questions that made her brain cry.

But when it came to mechanics, more specifically, the very intricate and precise details of successfully operating a motorcycle, she was clueless. It was just the one part of her brain that didn't bother with something of that nature when she was perfectly capable of driving a car, thank you very much.

"Why don't you go for a ride with me?"

Ever since Toby had made that proposition to her some weeks ago, she had turned herself into a complete motorcycle-geek, memorizing important details she had learned about the exterior of the motorcycle, as well as the _anterior _parts she had learned, which was a whole other chapter in the book she had been mentally formulating.

Finally, she thought she was ready to go on this death-defying ride with Toby. Or, as ready as she would ever be for someone who had never even touched one before. Eying the identical leather jacket that was slung over the kitchen chair, she grabbed it and shrugged it on before she chickened out. Toby had bought her the jacket in a fit of excitement when she first agreed to share in one of his passions.

"You look great, babe," Toby said softly as he met her on the sidewalk, gently placing a kiss to her temple as he hooked his hands around her waist. "Just _breathe_. Remember what I taught you?"

She sighed gently as she took his outstretched hands in hers. "Babe, I think it's wonderful that you have this," she eyed the innocuous bike resentfully. "Passion of yours, even though I think it's something straight out of a horror movie, but do you really think I would _like _this?"

He shook his head, a simple smile on his face. "Not just like," he corrected. "You'll _love _it if you give it a shot."

Spencer swallowed back the football-sized lump in her throat as she stared again at the bike, trying to glean a new understanding of the machine in front of her, and tried to think of it as another academic hurtle she had to overcome. "You know the ratio of motorcycle deaths to car deaths is virtually nonexistent? At least two percent of all motorcycle riders will experience an accident," she recited, sounding as usual like she was reading from a dictionary. "And at least seven percent of riders will suffer a fatal accident," she gulped involuntarily as the thought of Toby's lifeless body lying on the side of some road, came searing into her brain.

"Spence, you're doing it again."

"Doing...what?"

"Obsessing," Toby tilted an eyebrow up. "And in your case, _over_obsessing. The people that had those accidents probably were not paying proper attention like they should have been. You have no idea how easy it is to get cocky when you're on the road like that."

"What about the people who got slammed by cars?" She squeaked, winding her arms around her stomach to try to quell had shaky she was.

Toby shrugged as if it was of no concern to him. "You just have to watch everything around you, even the other cars. If you notice what a driver is about to do in time, you can avoid it entirely."

She nodded, feeling slightly better, but not much. It was just incomprehensible to her that anyone could enjoy speeding down the road at breakneck speeds, potentially risking your life, just to get a thrill out of it. But she willing to take him up on his bet, and there was no way she would lose out on it no matter what.

"Okay, let's do this."

He grinned, reaching for a silver and black helmet. He helped her fasten the strap of the heavy helmet under her taut neck before fastening his own helmet around his head, pushing the protective face guard down as he easily swung himself over the bike, beckoning for Spencer to join him. She did so hesitantly as she propped one leg on the ground to balance herself and the other to swing herself over onto the bike.

The height of the bike surprised her: from seeing the bike at a (safe) distance, she thought it looked small, relatively safe. But now that she was sitting atop it, she realized how wrong she was and that it was actually a lot taller than she had originally surmised.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Spencer asked, shocked to hear how her voice shook at what she was about to do.

"Spence, I've had this license since I was sixteen." Even though his face was hidden by the face guard, she could almost see him roll his eyes at her comment. "You ready?"

"In theory." She tried not to jump when he started the bike up, the explosive sound filling her ears as she wound her arms around his waist, clasping her hands together in front of his stomach. The speed he started out with was slow as he slowly eased the bike out into the street.

But when he gradually increased his speed, she started to panic again. It felt frightening for her to be so out of control when she was usually so _in control. _She tightened her grip on her boyfriend as the wind and the pressure rocketed against her, as if determined to either knock her off the bike or succeed in scaring her even more.

"You doing okay?" Toby called back to her once they had hit a red light.

"Y-yeah," she said, forcing a smile on her face even though she was sure she was breaking his ribs by how hard she was squeezing him.

"Okay, just making sure." He gave his head a short shake as if he didn't believe a word she was saying as the light switched and they resumed their riding.

Spencer honestly tried to relax and enjoy the ride. She tried telling herself that Toby would never, not in a million years, let anything happen to her while he was in control and she let that thought offer at least some sort of peace as she relaxed her grip on him and gazed around her at the scenery that was rapidly changing as they rode. When they passed another rider, she watched in fascination as Toby lowered his left arm toward his leg with two fingers extended in a greeting to the other rider. Toby also explained to her that the sign signified a sort of bond between riders an unspoken rule that they would be there for each other in the event of an accident.

She turned her head, watching as the cars beside them sped by. It scared her slightly to think of a vehicle be in such close striking proximity, but she also trusted Toby when he told her he was paying attention to everything and everyone around them.

As the fear coursed through her veins hot and heavy, she could feel another kind of feeling intermingle with the fear: exhilaration. It was true that the fear she had for this dangerous activity was stifling, but she could also feel the exhilaration course through her veins just as potently.

"What do you think?" Toby asked once they had stopped and he had helped her get her motorcycle gear off. "Fun or completely crippling?"

Spencer honestly thought of her answer as she swept her hair back from her forehead. "I thought it was terrifying at first...but then...I don't know, it actually became kind of _fun_."

Toby's grin was as wide as the satisfaction that Spencer felt in completing the ride that Toby had wanted her to go on for so long. "I knew you would like it if you just gave yourself a chance to kick back and relax."

Spencer nodded along with his words in agreement. "Did I hurt you too bad?" She bit her bottom lip as she thought of the brute-like force she had inflicted upon his sides.

"I think I'll survive," he laughed. "You know Em went with me once."

Spencer arched an eyebrow in surprise. Emily had never told her that she and Toby had gone on a ride together. "When was that?"

"A few months ago."

All in all, it was a completely satisfactory day and as Spencer and Toby relaxed against his sofa to watch their favorite movie together and she cuddled against his chest, all she could think about was when she could go out on the bike again.


End file.
